Sweet Surrender
by Boondock Jake
Summary: Silverwing TV Series.  While looking for his colony, Shade and Marina take shelter during a violent storm and end up complicating their friendship.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hey all! I'm back with this little story. I've been having trouble writing lately so I made this story as a bit of a warm up and practice for some other stuff I'm working on. Plus I really need to do another Marina/Shade story. Enjoy!_

_I feel too that I must give props to luna1502 and Kyumara for their fantastic pieces of art "Kiss Me" and "Shade et Marina" on DeviantArt that inspired this story. _

_Silverwing and its characters belong to Kenneth Oppel. I guess the show and animation belongs to Bardel and Teletoon._

Sweet Surrender

"Shit!"

Shade Silverwing cussed as another bolt of lightning ripped through the sky and was followed by a roar of thunder.

He flinched in reflex as his mother would usually give him a good cuff upside the ears for using such inappropriate language. It was at a time like this that he wished his mother was there to remind him of better manners. Shade shook some water from his muzzle but did little as the rain continued to beat down upon him. A harsh, chilly wind blew through the air and threatened to push the little Silverwing down to the forest below.

"Shade! Are you okay!" Came a voice from beside him almost drowned out by the violent weather.

Shade caught a glimpse of bright orange in the corner of his eye, the rain making him squeeze them shut and shake his head once more.

"I'm fine Marina! Quit worrying!" He shouted back, his last words teetering with annoyance. The Brightwing gave him an apologetic look though she doubted he could see it. Marina swopped down next to him and could see Shade struggling to catch his breath, his wing beats becoming slow and tired.

"Shade! We need to stop! We're going to get killed out here!" She cried.

"I told you I'm fine! I don't need to stop!"

"But Shade!"

"Dammnit Marina, I need to find my colony! Goth and Throbb could catch up with us any minute!" He yelled back hoarsely.

"Even Goth and Throbb aren't stupid enough to fly in this storm! You're on your last wings here Shade! Please! I can't go much further myself!"

Shade managed to look at his fellow bat and saw the worry and exhaustion in her face. He looked ahead and saw nothing but rain and lightning and the same thing when he looked back. Letting out an inaudible sigh he agreed.

"Fine! Let's find a place to roost!"

Marina gave him a small smile and flew down to the trees beneath them, Shade following behind closely.

Through the branches of towering Fir trees they flew, trying to find some place warm and dry. There were not many suitable places as many trees were already occupied by squirrels or various sorts of birds. The two bats were careful as not to make their presence known to the forest as there were sure to be some spies for Brutus. All of which made the process that much more difficult.

"Marina…I have to land…" She heard Shade mumble behind her and she turned just in time to see Shade careen towards the ground.

"Shade!"

The Silverwing had sagged to but a few feet of the ground when he stopped flying all together and crashed into the wet ground. Marina dove after him and failed to have such a graceful landing herself. Her claws sank into the mud and she tripped, rolling up just beside her friend.

"Shade! Are you okay!" She asked, grabbing his shoulders. "Yeah…my face broke my fall." He replied with ragged breaths.

Marina couldn't help but smile in relief. She helped him up and the two realized that they were out in the open more than they wanted to be.

"We're way too exposed." Shade grunted, standing up on shaky legs. Marina simply nodded, an eerie feeling of being watched creeping into her brain. But where was there to go?

The two looked around for something, anything that would give them shelter. "What about that?" Shade said, causing Marina to look over.

What Shade was referring to was an old Fir tree that the humans had turned into a stump. It was large and very wide, covered in a thick spongy moss. Marina didn't answer but summoned enough energy to fly over to it. Shade summoned up what little strength he had himself, his wings burning and pushed himself towards the stump. Marina landed on top and crawled over the side looking for an entrance.

"Please let there be something. Please, please oh please. Yes! Shade, over here!"

Shade slowly crawled over to where she was and sighed in relief as a good bat sized knot hole was discovered.

"Ladies first." Shade said with a friendly smile, water dripping off the tip of his mohawk.

"You know, I think I prefer you on the brink of exhaustion. You're too tired to be a dork but not enough to stop being a gentleman." She replied, gently poking his nose. Shade blushed and cleared his throat, looking away. Marina laughed and entered the hole.

Shade touched his nose where Marina had touched him and stared off into space, oblivious to the rain pouring down on him.

"You coming or what?" Marina asked, poking her head out. Shade broke from his trance and gave an embarrassed smile.

"Sorry. Just…making sure we weren't followed." And with that, he followed his Brightwing companion into the stump.

* * *

The stump was surprisingly dry and quite roomy. It was just as cold inside but that was a small sacrifice for being dry and sheltered. Marina hung from the wooden makeshift ceiling as Shade rested on the floor, his back against the wall.

Marina watched him take in slow deep breaths and rub his sore shoulders. She frowned as she remembered him snapping at her earlier for suggesting they land. Marina knew that he hadn't meant to be irate but rather was speaking out of pride. She knew that he was sensitive about his size.

Time and time again, Shade would push himself too far to prove that he could manage just as well as any other bat that was bigger. It often put him in states like his current one. Gasping for air and so tired that he can barely crawl. But he had a strong spirit and Marina liked that. It was admirable that he didn't let what others told him keep him down but rather gave him incentive to become much more.

And it was rather cute when he tried so hard to be a tough guy.

She felt her lips being tugged into a smile as she watched him try to knock the water out of his ears. He was rather cute when he was just being himself too. Marina realized that she was staring and quickly turned her head away as to hide her blush.

Marina wouldn't deny it. There was an attraction. Shade may have been small but he was far from bad looking. He was brave, funny and had a heart of gold, even if he did have a rocky start near the beginning of their friendship. But his smile is what Marina loved. It was the first real smile she had received since being banded. If any bat came anywhere near her and saw the band, they wouldn't stay around for a goodbye. But not Shade. He stayed and even saved her life when that orca tried to swallow her.

He was her hero. Even if she could never tell him that.

Marina bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes in frustration. She suddenly felt very stupid. This was something she was trying to avoid.

"_Shade is just your friend. That's all he is. That's all you want him to be."_

She repeated this over and over in her head, trying to block out the thoughts she was having earlier. She opened her eyes and saw that Shade was staring at her, a tired look and smile on his face. The Brightwing couldn't help but return it.

Marina yawned and wrung the water out of her long blonde hair. Shade had managed to stand up but suddenly leapt out of the way just as the water hit the floor. He looked up and narrowed his eyes at her.

"Sorry. But a girl needs to look good Shade." She said brushing a few bangs out of her face. Shade flew up and hung beside her and shook his head.

"Pfft. What's the point of trying to look good in weather like that?"

"You never know. Maybe a handsome Brightwing will come by and fall head over wing for me." Marina joked.

Shade rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah or maybe he'll take one look at you and fly off in the opposite direction as fast as he can."

"Or maybe that bat you told me about from your colony. Chinook? He sounded cute."

Shade practically fell from his perch as his eyes widened in disgust. "What! Chinook! He's not cute, he's an idiot! There's a difference!"

Marina laughed and shrugged her wings, "Meh. As long as he's big and strong, that's all I care about. Big strong wings make me quiver."

Shade stared at her with an open mouth but quickly sneered and turned away, his face hot with embarrassment and jealousy.

"Oh come on Shade," She said, a smile still on her lips. "I was only joking." But Shade refused to look or even speak to her. Marina's smile faded and she soon became concerned. Had she somehow hurt his feelings? She hadn't meant to.

"Shade? You're not really mad at me…are you?" She asked nervously. Shade could sense the sincerity in her voice and suddenly felt a wave of guilt hit him. He didn't want her to feel bad because he was being a baby.

He never wanted her to feel bad ever.

He turned around with a grin on his muzzle and said, "Me? Mad at you? Never."

She smiled back and the two bats just stared, each looking into the others eyes. There was an awkward silence as the only thing could be heard was the thunder and rain outside. Sensing the awkwardness, the two bats looked away, both trying to hide the crimson colors that appeared on their faces.

"Um…well, we should probably sleep now. We got a long way to go still." Shade mumbled. "Yeah…" Marina agreed.

"I'll see you in a few hours?" He asked.

"I'll be right here." She smiled at him.

They had another short awkward stare but both turned away from one another and settled into sleep.

* * *

Shade awoke to the boom of an angry thunder clap.

He rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes and took a peek outside the knothole. The clouds had grown increasingly darker to the point where it almost looked like nightfall. The rain still came down hard, the drops slapping down angrily on the top of the stump. Shade wrapped himself tighter in his wings as he shivered. It was nice to be dry but the stump didn't provide much heat.

He turned away from the dreary scene in front of him, hoping to get his mind off the weather and cold. When he did turn away, he definitely found a view that was a million times better and certainly got his mind off the weather.

Shade gazed at Marina's sleeping form, his eyes wandering from her slender form to her beautiful face. He stared with an almost trance like expression, losing himself in the vision of such a stunning creature before him. A few bangs of her bright yellow hair had fallen in front of her face and Shade reached out with claw to brush them away. He suddenly realized what he was doing and quickly retreated his wing.

"_Oh yeah, cause that doesn't make you look like a creep!"_ His brain screamed at him. If Marina woke up and saw him doing that…well, let's just say it would be the only moment in his life where he would want Goth and Throbb show up.

Shade shook his head, trying to loosen the all too familiar thoughts that were crawling into his brain over the past few months. He closed his eyes trying to force himself to sleep but he found that he was no longer tired. Marina always had that affect on him. Just being this close to her made his whole body feel like it had been struck by the lightning outside. A single smile from her could make him feel like he could take on Brutus and the cannibal bats at the same time.

The Brightwing had become very special to him.

When he first met Marina, he didn't think much of her. In fact, he wasn't too fond of her. She was bossy, annoying and egotistical. She reminded him of a female version of Chinook only smarter. But as time went on, that started to change.

Shade came to find that Marina was not any of those things. She was sweet, kind, understanding, forgiving and had a heart as big as the moon. Marina had taught him so much about not taking things for granted and to accept the good in others, even those that were labeled as his enemy.

He would have been dead a long time ago if he hadn't met her.

Shade let out a sigh and shifted in his perch uncomfortably. Dealing with these feelings was always so frustrating. Mostly because there was no way he could ever tell her how he felt. He cringed at the thought of her staring at him with a gaping maw only to have it twist into a cruel smile and heartbreaking laughter echo throughout his ears.

Telling her would definitely be a bad idea.

"Besides, she'll probably fall over Chinook the moment she meets him. Just like Breeze." Shade mumbled to himself, another unpleasant thought entering his head.

While Shade knew that Marina was only teasing when she was talking about Chinook, the possibility of it happening was real enough. It had happened once before.

A few months before the owls destroyed Tree Haven, Shade had developed a crush on a young bat by the name of Breeze. She was a pretty little thing and Shade found that she was one of the few others that didn't pick on him because of his size. She always said hello to him and they hunted together from time to time. He had fun with her and found himself liking her more and more each time he saw her.

Unfortunately Chinook had to enter the picture.

While hunting Tiger Moths one night, Chinook came out of nowhere and snagged a moth just before Shade could. It had happened once before and it wouldn't be the last time either. As usual, Shade angrily confronted him about it and the bigger bat would merely deny it and proceed to call him names. When Breeze caught up to what was happening, she took one look at Chinook who flashed his trademark smile and that was that.

In that instant, things changed. Breeze would no longer say hello to him and if she did, it was only to ask if he had seen Chinook. She hunted with him now and became his most loyal fan girl, although Chinook didn't seem to care too much as he had just about every other female following him around like he was king of the forest.

Shade had never felt so unwanted in his life. Until he broke the law that is. The young bat gritted his teeth in anger.

"_It's not fair!" _Shade thought bitterly, _"Why does Chinook get away with everything? It was partially his fault that I broke the law! But does he get any backlash for it? No! And when he meets Marina, will he know anything about her or have saved her life? No! But that won't stop her for falling for that big lummox!"_

Shade could feel his blood starting to boil as he thought more and more about his bad luck.

"Shade?"

He froze instantly at the sound of the soft voice beside him. He turned around slowly to see a sleepy eyed Marina staring at him. "Are you okay? I felt you tossing and turning."

"Yeah, I just…the thunder woke me up. Sorry I woke you." Shade apologized softly.

"No it's fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay." Marina said giving him one of her many smiles that she had been giving him that day. She turned to go back to sleep as did Shade but he noticed out of the corner of his eye that she was shivering.

"Are you cold Marina?" He asked turning back. He mentally kicked himself after asking. Of course she was. It was freezing.

"I'll be okay. Don't worry yourself." She replied through chattering teeth and pulled her wings tighter around herself.

"You're shaking and I could hear your teeth slamming together from a hundred wing beats away. You need to get warm. We both do."

"Well I'm open to ideas Shade." She replied dryly. "But unless you can turn winter into summer, I think we might be screwed."

Shade frowned as he knew that she was right. If they didn't get some heat in their bodies, they might not last until nightfall. But what could they do? An idea popped into his brain at that moment but it was one that made the Silverwing blush harder than he ever has.

"_No way runt. Uh uh. She'll rip you a new one if you try that."_ His mind tried to reason. But Shade took one look at her and saw that her shivering had intensified. Marina needed to be warm. His thoughts had silenced themselves with one look at her discomfort and he knew what he needed to do. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his move.

Marina tried to think of something, anything to get her mind of the cold but found nothing helped. A feeling of fear had started to well up inside her as she thought that they might freeze to death. She didn't want to die this way. She didn't want Shade to die this way. Marina was about to say something to her friend when she felt a wing wrap around her and her body was pulled up against another. She turned her head and came noses to nose with Shade who had an embarrassed look plastered all over his face.

Marina could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks as the two just stared at each other.

"Shade…" Marina practically whispered. "I can't change the seasons but I figured maybe I could get us through tonight at least." Shade managed to squeak out feeling very foolish.

Marina opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Shade's eyes darted from side to side as he started to panic. He quickly let go of the Brightwing and nervously fiddled with his claws.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to…uh…it's just…I thought you were cold and…I figured that…the season's thing…" Shade stammered avoiding her gaze. He was pretty sure that his entire fur color had changed to bright red. Shade turned away and hid his face in his wings. _"Oh Nocturna, kill me now."_

"Shade."

His ears twitched at the soft angelic coo of her voice that was barely a whisper. He refused to look at her. He couldn't. Shade suddenly felt her wing softly touch his shoulder. Slowly, the small bat turned to face her and saw that she was looking at him with a look that he had never seen her give him before. She gave no smile but there was a shine in her eyes, one that sparked something deep inside Shade. Something he had never felt before.

Marina gently grabbed his wrists and made him open his wings. Shade let her, his body completely obeying her light touch. Once they were open, Marina inched closer to him and pressed herself against his body. Shade shivered but not from the cold and his wings found themselves wrapped around her again.

She nestled her head just below his chin and took a deep inhale of his scent. Shade did the same with her hair and he softly growled in approval. Never had he smelt anything so sweet. Without warning, he felt the warm damp feeling of her tongue caress his mane and up to the side of his neck. His muzzle flashed red but it quickly faded as he found that he was feeling less and less embarrassed.

Marina came to eye level with Shade, that look still on her face. The two stared at each other once more but this time there was no awkwardness. No embarrassed look away. Just the two looking into each others eyes, both wanting the same thing. Slower than a caterpillar crawling along the forest floor, they inched their mouths closer together. Shade stopped at less than an inch away. His brain had fired up again and was questioning what he was about to do but his body silenced it and took over again as he closed that last desirable distance.

And they kissed.

It was a small one at first. Their lips parted for a brief moment then met together again, a little longer this time. It wasn't long before each time they parted, the kisses became longer. Shade tightened his hold on her, her body pressing tighter against his own. Marina moaned softly, muffled by the kiss. Hearing her enjoyment echo through out his ears caused Shade to try something else. Remembering what Marina did earlier, he moved his kisses down to her neck.

Marina's eyes rolled to the back of her head as she let out a heavy gasp and leaned her head back as Shade suckled at her neck hungrily, taking in the sweet taste of her. Her claws dug into his yellow mane which only intensified his affection. He worked his way back up to her lips where upon reaching; Marina practically forced her tongue inside his mouth.

Shade's heart was racing a million miles a second. Never in his life had he experienced such desire and passion. If the world outside were to end at this very moment, he wouldn't care. Right now, his world was Marina.

Marina broke away for a moment, gently licking Shade's lips and taking a playful tug at his bottom one with her teeth. He pulled her back in, pressing his lips against hers hard, their tongues battling for dominance over the other. Shade could feel her claws now move over his chest slowly, the sharp points causing his entire body to tingle. Her claws stayed there and with a heavy push, she broke away from his kiss and embrace.

The two bats hung there, panting.

Marina still kept him at a wing's length away and her head was turned to the side, eyes closed. Shade watched her with a confused look on his face. Why did she stop? Did he do something wrong?

"We…" She breathed, her green eyes opening once more. "We should stop there."

"Why? Did…did I hurt you or something? Did I not do something right?" He asked worriedly.

"No Shade. You did nothing wrong. That was…amazing." She said, her eyes now meeting his. Shade felt himself relax but he was still confused as to why they had stopped.

"I…" Marina began but stopped. She saw the look of worry and confusion in the other bat's eyes that made her heart sink as she chose her next words.

"I like you Shade. I like you a lot. And I would be lying if I said I didn't want to do that." She said. Shade couldn't help but smile. How could he not? He was wrong about everything. Marina did want him. She did return his feelings. He wasn't cursed with such bad luck after all.

"But I can't do this."

Shade's heart practically stopped beating as those words left her mouth. He stared at her, his mouthing opening to say something but nothing came out. He tried again and this time found the words.

"Why?"

Marina let out a sad sigh. This was what she was afraid of. This is why she never tried to show any interest in Shade. She knew this was going to happen.

"Because I think it's best that we just…stay as what we are. Friends." The brighter colored bat finished, looking at him with apologetic eyes. "Oh." Is all Shade said, his voice quiet as a whisper.

"It's not that I don't…I just…" Marina struggled with her words. "I haven't had a friend in so long and then you came along. I don't want to lose that Shade."

Shade merely nodded and mumbled, "Yeah…I understand." Marina felt like crying. This was not what she wanted. Damn her for letting her emotions go crazy like that!

"This…won't change our friendship…will it?" She asked timidly. Shade forced a smile and shook his head.

"No. You're the first real friend I've had in years. I don't want to lose that either."

Marina smiled out of relief and Shade murmured a good night, turning his back to her. She did the same, her face hot with shame. Shade wrapped himself tighter in his wings as the cold had returned, his body no longer pressed against the beautiful female beside him.

Shade closed his eyes tightly as they started to feel damp with potential tears. The rain continued its onslaught on the forest outside and Shade took a peek to scan for any signs of Goth or Throbb. Not that it mattered to him right now.

Goth had threatened to rip Shade's heart out and eat it plenty of times but if he tried it now, he would have found it difficult as Shade was sure it had been broken into a thousand pieces.

_A/N: Hmm. That last line seemed a little too emo for my taste. Ah well. Stay tuned for chapter 2! It'll be up in the next day or so. Promise! Cya!_


	2. Chapter 2

Marina loved the summer.

The days were longer and the weather was beautiful. No rain or snow. No bare trees with branches that stuck out like sickly limbs. Just the sun shining high in the sky and an abundance of colorful forest all around her. But she especially loved the sunsets during this time of year which she was in the process of trying to see right now.

She soared through the woods, playfully ducking and weaving through the branches. She would catch a moth here and a mosquito there. They were always plentiful at this time of day. Up and around the creek bed, turning right at the giant trees with odd faces that the humans had made, she came to a small tree that grew from the base of a cliff and stretched over the ocean. Grasping the branch with her claws, she swung upside down, facing the seemingly never ending ocean.

The sun was hovering just above the water now, the light of day turning to a bright orange with a hint of the approaching darkness of night. Were this a few seasons ago, she would have been killed by the owls for being out in the day. But thanks to someone who she knew oh so well, things had changed.

Marina's thoughts came to envision the heroic Silverwing whose name would be remembered by all bats for generations to come. How he had saved his entire colony from not only wolves and owls but a pair of giant southern cannibal bats. The tiny bat that had learned to take sounds and project them into images and ability that only Tiger Moths were thought to have possessed. A bat that, after being banished to darkness for thousands of years, brought back the sun for them all. But he also gave her something that she would remember him for more than any of this.

He gave her a home.

Marina had spent many a day in the old hollowed out Oak tree on the east side of the island. It was enormous, with channels of passages turning every which way. It could have sheltered up to well over a thousand bats. But despite its spacious room and safe haven, it was anything but home for Marina. Everyday was as lonely as the next. The tree held an unbearable silence that she could not stand. It reminded her of how empty her life had become.

But now the tree was full of Silverwings. Young and old, big and small. The tree had been given new life and Marina had been given a new colony. A new family. All had accepted her, despite being a Brightwing and not to mention the band that occupied her wing. Unlike her own colony, they paid no heed to the superstitious mystery that surrounded the band. Even Frieda, their highest respected elder had a band and the two had many conversations about the truth of the silver piece of metal. They had many theories on its existence but on one thing they could definitely agree on was that it was not a curse.

All because of him.

Marina sighed and looked out to the ocean, the waves softly crashing into the rocks below. The sun was beginning it's descent below the horizon, the few clouds that surrounded it illuminated with orange and purple.

"_How could so much time pass and things still be the same?"_ She thought. The bright furred bat often had that thought when her mind was occupied with the Silverwing. Marina shook her head as the memory of that stormy cold day in the stump returned to her. It was a painful one and the shame never went away when she remembered.

"_You were just a stupid teenager. That's what you do at that age. I mean, he looked at the SUN for Nocturna's sake. But you had your reasoning's. He wouldn't have understood. It's better this way."_

But despite her self reassurance, even Marina had a hard time buying that excuse. It was true that she was just a teenager when things happened the way they did. Now as an adult, she thought that her reasoning's for doing what she did would have changed. But it never did.

"You're still just a dumb teenager." She said to herself softly.

"Are you talking about me again?" Came a voice from above her.

Marina nearly jumped out of her fur and looked up to see the cause of all her stress and wild emotions, perched on top of the branch and staring down at her with that smile she loved so much. "Nice Shade," She replied dryly. "Next time just shake the branch until it breaks to kill me and spare the heart attack."

Shade chuckled and swung upside down next to her. Marina felt an all too familiar tightness that formed in her stomach whenever he was this close to her.

"Sorry. I'll remember that next time." He said, his voice ringing with amusement. The two hanged there in silence, watching the sun slowly sink itself into the sea. Marina tried not to watch the other bat from the corner of her eye but found it difficult. She was sure he still had a smile on his muzzle and the most relaxed expression. He always did.

Shade was far from the trouble making runt he used to be.

The Silverwing had grown fairly large over the seasons, growing taller than even her though still small by average standards. His chest was much larger with broad powerful shoulders and thick arms. As with all adult males, a blonde goatee had grown on his chin that she was sure he had spent forever grooming to look right. There were a few knicks on his large ears, caused by the battles between him and Goth. At first he seemed embarrassed by them but that soon changed when all the females told him it made him look 'dashing' and 'heroic'.

Marina mentally frowned as she remembered how every female suddenly wanted to be his friend after the epic journey he had endured.

How they fawned all over him whenever he was telling the story of how he tricked Goth with his echo projection of Cama Zotz for the hundredth time. How they followed his every wing beat when he went out hunting. And how, when they were younger, they use to come between Shade and herself whenever they were roosting.

She hated that.

"Marina?"

Shade's deep voice brought her out of her trance and she saw that he was staring at her. "Are you alright? You were zoning out there." He asked.

"Yeah…I'm fine. Just…had a long day." She replied, forcing a smile. Shade didn't return it as he looked back out over the ocean.

"I see you've been hanging around Chinook a lot recently." He said out of nowhere, causing her to give him a puzzled look.

"Yeah. And you're asking this because…" She answered, trailing off at the end so he could finish the sentence. Shade said nothing but swung up to the top of the branch so he could stand up straight. Marina watched him for a moment, still confused but followed his example. Shade was still silent as his eyes remained fixed on the sunset.

"So when did he become your best friend?" Shade finally answered her. Marina narrowed her eyes at him and frowned. She didn't like his tone.

"What are you talking about Shade? You're my best friend. You know that."

"I know you've been avoiding me." He stated softly, completely ignoring her response. His eyes had moved down to his feet, refusing to look at her. Before Marina could respond, he continued.

"I didn't notice at first. You seemed so happy to be with so many that accepted you. I was more than happy to let you make new friends and to make sure you felt like you belonged."

Shade finally brought his eyes up to hers and gave a small apologetic grin. "Everyone loved you. They all wanted to be your friend. Especially Chinook. But I knew that things between us wouldn't change. I knew that we would still be the best of friends. Because that's what you wanted."

Shade's grin vanished and it was quickly transformed into a frown. Marina didn't say anything. She couldn't it she wanted to. She knew where this was going.

"But as the seasons went by, I saw less of you. You didn't roost with me anymore. You went out hunting with others. And Chinook," Shade growled the other bat's name. "All I could hear was the rumors that were floating around. That you and he were becoming more…and it killed me."

"Don't Shade." Marina whispered. This was a conversion she never wanted to have. But Shade didn't stop.

"I never said anything because I remembered what you told me. About not wanting to lose what we had. So I endured it. But…"

The Silverwing stopped and closed his eyes, letting out a deep sigh. He turned to face Marina whose face was written with fear and sadness.

"I can't do it anymore. I can't live with what we are."

"Shade." Marina interrupted, her voice shaky but serious. "Please stop. I know that Chinook have been spending a lot of time together…but it's not what you think. I just…"

She trailed off at the end, trying to find some sort of excuse but found she had none. Shade stepped closer to her making her suck in a breath and her eyes quickly wandered his frame to which she cursed herself for doing.

"I know you feel it too." He said. Marina shook her head at him, her long hair swaying back and forth.

"No Shade. We can't…I don't…"

"If you really felt that way, you wouldn't have been avoiding me. But you do. Because you feel the way I do but you're scared. That's what I don't understand Marina. What are you afraid of?"

"Shade, I'm begging you," Marina pleaded, her voice breaking slightly. "Please just drop this. We can go back to the way things use to be. I won't spend so much time with Chinook. You and I…"

"Stop ignoring the question. This isn't about Chinook." Shade told at her, his voice taking on a slightly annoyed tune.

Marina sneered at him, her demeanor taking a quick change. "Really Shade? Then why did you bring him up? You always bring him up. Back when you were looking for your colony, that's all you could talk about. How much he picked on you and that he was a lunk head. You may have grown up but you haven't outgrown your jealousy."

Shade opened his mouth to retaliate but the Brightwing cut him off.

"And who are you to guilt me about avoiding you? Every time I see you, you're off with some female hunting or going to the lake or telling another one of your 'heroic' stories. You could have come to me Shade. You could have put in some effort." Marina seethed. At this point, her temper was getting harder and harder to control.

"Why do you even need me at all? You could be with any one of those girls! They would be more than happy to have the hero bat on their wing to show off to the entire world! So why don't you just fly off with one of them huh?"

Marina finished her rant and spun away from him, wings folded over, her slender body shaking with anger. She blinked her green eyes a few times to try and keep the tears from falling. There was silence after that. The sun had set long ago, the sky now covered in the blanket of night. The two bats stood in the darkness, neither speaking nor moving.

"Because they're not you." Shade's calming voice finally spoke out.

Marina said nothing but she could feel a painful tug at her heart as his words graced her ears. She felt the weight of the branch shift as Shade took another step towards her, the heat of his body radiating onto her back. A tingle ran up her spine.

"Maybe you're right about my effort," He said, his warm breath tickling the back of her neck. "Maybe I could have come to you more. But things wouldn't have changed Marina. You and I would still be on this branch, saying what we're saying."

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Things would still have gone the way they did. She continued to stare out into the night, the sounds of the tide crashing against the shore even louder now.

"Those other females, I know they only like me because of what happened. They don't care about me and I don't care about them." Shade stated. "You think I like telling the same story over and over again to a bunch of whiney girls? Even I'm bored of me after telling it so many times."

Marina tried to stifle a laugh, succeeding only a little as a small chuckle escaped. Shade smiled.

"And…maybe I am still jealous of Chinook." He mumbled quietly. "But only because I knew he liked you and…"

Marina waited for him to continue but was met with another silence. She turned her head and saw that Shade was staring at his feet again. Turning completely around she asked him,

"And?"

Shade brought his head back up and tried to speak but no words came out. He took a deep breath and tried again.

"I didn't want to lose you to him. Chinook has always beaten me at just about everything. He always got what he wanted. But I realized as I got older that those things didn't really matter…except for you"

Marina's face softened as Shade felt the all too familiar feeling of embarrassment wash over him. "He can be the biggest bat in the colony. He can be the best flyer. Hell, he can even be the hero who brought back the sun for all I care. But…he can't have you." He finished quietly.

Marina was speechless. So much was being taken in that her head started to spin and she started to feel dizzy.

"Marina." The sound of her name leaving his mouth sounded like music to her ears as looked her straight in the eyes.

"I love you."

Her heart practically leapt out of her chest as the words floated past his lips. She wanted to say something, anything but nothing came out. Shade inched closer to her, looking down at her with a look that told her he wasn't making this up. Slowly, the other bat leaned forward, his mouth just inches from her own. Marina found herself being drawn towards him and just before the two touched, she turned away.

"I can't." She croaked.

"Yes you can." Shade urged. "I know you're scared. I just don't understand why, so please, tell me."

Marina said nothing, her cheeks dampening from the tears that fell without resistance. She felt Shade grasp her softly by the shoulders and she let out a sob at the warmth of his touch. One that she had wanted for so long.

"Because I'm not worth it Shade. I'm bad luck." She cried. Shade furrowed his brow and shook his head in confusion.

"No you're not. Marina, if this is about the bands…"

"I'm not talking about the bands!" She yelled, breaking free from his hold.

"Everyone I've ever cared about in my life I've lost! I lost my family and my colony. I spent my entire adolescent life alone and anyone who came near me ran at the first sight of this." She held up her wing, catching her reflection in the tiny piece of metal.

"Then you came along. You didn't run away. You stayed with me and each day we spent together I could feel myself growing closer to you. But then we met Goth and Throbb. After that, all I could think about was how I was going to lose you. How I was going to get you killed."

"But you didn't." Shade said.

"It felt like it was only a matter of time. That's why that day in the stump…I pushed you away. I didn't want us to get closer than we already were because the sting of you gone from my life would have been too much."

Marina lowered her head, a few tears running off her cheeks and dropping into the sea below. "My colony, my family…I got over losing them Shade. But you…you would be the one loss I couldn't bare."

Shade stared at her with stunned silence. Marina faced him and wiped a tear away, saying, "I am cursed Shade but not because of the band. I was born this way. And if you and I…do this, then it's doomed from the start."

"No."

Marina was taken back at the harshness of Shade's response. He shook his head at her, his eyes hard and a small flame alit within them.

"I won't accept that Marina. You are not cursed. If you were then I would never of have found my colony. I never would have beaten Goth. I would have given up. But you were there to keep me going."

"But I could of…"

"You didn't. Isn't that proof enough? You say that you think you will lose me." Shade grabbed her again and pulled her tightly against his chest. "I'm telling you right now, you will never lose me. Ever."

With that he kissed her. Marina was frozen at first. She didn't know what to do but soon enough, she let go of what was holding her back and kissed back. She wrapped her wings around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Shade broke away and leaned his forehead on hers.

"I love you Marina. And if you be with me, I'll never let you go."

"Promise me you won't leave." She whispered, close to tears again.

"I promise."

"Then I love you too Shade."

The two bats kissed again, their hearts both swelling. Marina pulled herself as tight as she could to him as if she was afraid the light summer breeze would blow her away. They broke away and she nuzzled her face into his mane.

"I'm still afraid Shade." She murmured. Shade squeezed her tightly in response.

"Don't be. If huge cannibal bats, owls, rats and wolves can't tear me away from you, then nothing will."

Marina gave him a loving smile and gently kissed him again. There was still fear and doubt inside her but Shade's words had severely weakened them. Maybe she just had to believe in something. After years of being alone and never letting herself hope for anything, it was hard to hold on to belief. But being here, in the wings of her hero, her best friend and now her lover, the idea of belief didn't seem so impossible now.

And her love for Shade was worth believing in.

The End

_A/N: Finished! I feel that this chapter wasn't as good as the first but I'll see how you guys enjoy it. I can always rewrite it if I have to. Thanks to all who have read and will read! Until next time! Cya!_


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